dg_cain | Running for the Right Reasons

Title: Running for the Right Reasons
Author: FeistyFox
Rating: T
Pairing: DG/Cain
Summary: One Shot. He'd been with her to long to let her just run off again.

This story was inspired by the Tin Man Grand Prix. Enjoy!

Prompt-"Did I say you could move?"

For this round, the prompt line must be used in your piece, spoken by one character to another.

Running for the Right Reasons

He slammed the door to her room his hand firmly latched around her arm. “What the hell were you thinking?” His shout reverberated around the room as his temper, which he had held so carefully in check for the last two hours, snapped like a harp cord.

DG’s eyes flashed in rage as she tried to wrench her arm free from his death grip. “I was thinking it would be nice to be gone before you woke up!”

He pulled her back with a growl, her utter defiance not helping to calm him down. “Did I say you could move? We aren’t done here, Princess!”

“Last I checked I didn’t take orders from you, Cain!” This was a total disaster that was rapidly going downhill. How she had managed to sneak out from right under his nose was beyond him and something seasoned criminals hadn’t managed to do. “Let go of me!”

“Why so you can skip back off to the stables again?” He tossed the pack he had caught her with against the wall and he swore she flinched when it hit with a thud scattering the few belongings she had packed across the floor. “Where do you think you were going?” He would love to hear what the plan behind this had been. Had he been three minutes slower on the uptake she would have been gone and well out of his reach.

“Away!” She finally managed to get loose and backed away from him shoving her now terribly short hair out of her face. She wasn’t even remotely apologetic as she kneeled down and began to shove her clothes back in the old bag.

His jaw clenched. “Away? Away from what? Your family? Your friends?” She snorted at that tossing a bruised apple to the side when it didn’t pass her inspection. She wasn’t looking at him and something inside him that had lay dormant for a long time was starting to claw to get out. And this wasn’t normal DG behavior; she always looked at him when they were talking. “I don’t appreciate being ignored, Kid!”

“Cain, I’m twenty-one years old, not a child.” She finally glanced up at him her face impassive. “My birthday was last week.” He had to fight not to show any surprise. She hadn’t mentioned that fact and for the life of him he couldn’t believe no one had remembered. Why her parents hadn’t remembered. She glanced back down at a piece of bread that had crumbled into pieces. She sighed the anger in her eyes vanishing. “Now I’m going to have to go back to the kitchens.”

She had to be kidding. “You’re not going anywhere else tonight!”

She shrugged. “I should probably wait until tomorrow now. I lost too much time.”

Panic began to rise up in him. He realized suddenly that this wasn’t some kind of impulsive decision on her part. She’d been planning this. “You can’t leave, DG.” He dropped her nickname afraid it would send her running from him before he could talk her down.

“Yes I can.” She replied firmly as she stood up setting her pack on a nearby chair before she turned to look out the window. “My parents have the country under control again and Az is doing fine. I don’t need to be here anymore.”

He wanted to shake sense into her. “So you’re just going to leave? Just like that? No goodbye, no note, no explanation? Do you have any idea how dangerous it is out there?”

She turned her head over her shoulder. “I thought you said I wasn’t safe here.” His eyes narrowed and a small triumphant smile played over her lips. “Uh oh, Tin Man, caught ya.”

“You think this is funny? If anyone found out who you were they would kill you in a heartbeat.”

She turned back to the window and for the first time since they had freed her sister he heard sadness creep into her voice, she wasn’t even trying to keep it hidden behind those big blue eyes anymore. “Actually I think this whole situation is very unfunny. But it would be better for everyone if I disappeared, at least for a year or so. Besides even running from Longcoats would be better than staying here.”

He moved closer to her concerned by the conviction behind her words. “You can’t possibly be serious. What are you talking about?”

“With me gone they’ll have to announce Az as heir apparent. It’s what Mother wants to do, she just can’t figure out how to with me out in the open. The people see me and think I’ll be some great Queen. They don’t know I’m the one with the darkness in me. This’ll make it easier.” He saw something flash over her eyes. “It’ll be easier for everybody once I leave.”

The panic in his chest was becoming overwhelming. He hadn’t felt anything like this in recent memory, not since he found out the Witch had taken her, since Toto had told her she was in trouble, since they’d broken into the Tower. She kept talking unaware of the emotions crashing over him. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you. But I figured it wouldn’t matter once I was gone.” She shifted her weight. “At least you’ll be free tomorrow right?”

“Free?” He heard the disbelief in his own voice.

“From me. From the palace. From this life we both know you never wanted.” Guilt laced her words and he understood what she was saying. Before he could think through what he was doing he had grabbed her arm and spun her around. Her shoulders slumped when she met his eyes. “Don’t look at me that way, Cain. This isn’t the life I wanted either.”

He grabbed her chin forcing her to look at him. “I’ve been free since you let me out of the suit.” Her lip quivered as if telling her he was with her out of choice was the last thing she ever expected to hear. He pulled her into his arms and she went stiff in surprise before she relaxed burying her head against his shoulder. Stealing himself for what he was about to do he briefly wondered how she made him do crazy things. Maybe it was becoming a habit. “I can’t let you go-“

She shoved him away hard but he held onto her. “I can’t stay!” The set of her jaw clearly stated this wasn’t up for discussion.

“Let me finish!” He tugged her back against him running his hand over her shortened hair as he watched her face. “I can’t let you go alone. We can leave tomorrow night.”

“What?” She was looking at him like he was crazy. Her eyes had gone wide and blank like they always did when she didn’t understand something.

“Sweetheart, I’m going with you.” He smiled softly running his thumb over her temple. “Too late to get rid of me now.” She had no idea.

“Cain-“ Her voice was barely above a whisper. “You don’t have to come.”

His eyes glittered. “Trying to talk me out of it?”

She rolled her eyes and suddenly the young woman he knew was back. “You say that like I could. I swear you’re the most stubborn man I’ve ever met in my entire life.”

He smiled as she leaned into his hand. “Don’t forget it.”

“Like you’d let me.”

He hummed shaking his head. “You get me into more trouble.” He saw her eyes flash indignantly and before she could protest he leaned forward capturing her lips with his. Moaning against his mouth he growled as her warm body melted against his after the briefest hesitation. She tasted even sweeter than he thought she would. He wrapped his hands around her waist and began to slowly back her toward the nearest wall. And she was the most stubborn woman he’d ever met; at least she’d agreed to wait until tomorrow to leave.